Van Trip!!

The heat is turned waaaay up in Granada this week, which is nice except for the fact that very few places have air conditioning. This makes for a lazy attitude that has enveloped the entire city.

This weekend was another fantastic one- Friday night was a bonafide Girls Night In/Out, with Clare, Ale, Melinda and I getting dressed up and having dinner and wine at Clare’s Albaycin apartment (with a small dance party) and then heading out to our favorite spot- Camborio for some more dancing after hours. I always have so much fun with these girls!

Saturday the Melrose crew + friends headed out to a beautiful house in the country where we met up with about 100 other people for a fantastic fiesta-

 Jamie made giant vats of paella, there were barbequed lamb ribs, a ridiculous assortment of desserts and people of all ages splashing around in a very unique pool. The entire atmosphere was so friendly and festive! Later on in the evening a few of the guys’ bands played (mostly reggae) and I played some games with Javie’s adorable 6 year old, Ari. After a while, Angel and I headed off in the van towards Malaga for the beach. I have to admit, this was hands down one of the worst nights I have experienced in this country. (Angel now refers to it as the “Noche Inferno”).

1. I had a TERRIBLE migraine.

2. We were lost and everyone we stopped to ask where the sea was thought we were joking and just laughed.

3. I finally went to lay down in one of the beds in the back but due to the bouncy curvy roads I was catapulted out of it into the small kitchenette producing a nice goose-egg on my forehead.

4. Once we finally arrived and parked on the first beach we could find, the war began: Mosquitoes vs. Humans. We did not win.

5. When we finally woke up and looked outside we realized we had accidentally parked on a “playa nudista” and were surrounded by little old naked men.

We hightailed it out of there in search of a café with coffee and breakfast. After that small caffeine fix, we tried again – this time with success!! We found a nice family-friendly beach, set up the umbrella, and proceeded to nap for the next 8 hours. Each time we woke up, Gusana was in an interesting position (my favorite was awaking to find her head burrowed in my armpit). The sun was out, the Mediterranean was clear and refreshing and there was a slight breeze. At one point we had some ice cream. A perfect day. Around 7 we decided to clean up a bit and have a dinner date- we found a nice restaurant with outside seating for hamburgers and patatas, which we devoured before heading back to Granada.

SABES QUE...
The Phoenicians founded the city of Malaka around 1000 BC and the name is believed to be from the Phoenician word for salt because fish were salted near the harbor.

Malaga is the birthplace of painter Pablo Picasso and actor Antonio Banderas. 

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